AIA Women's Leadership Summit 2019

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend the AIA Women’s Leadership Summit in Minneapolis. It was the third time I had gone to this bi-annual event and, though I always find elements I enjoy & value, the prospect of going solo to a conference always fills me with a bit of trepidation. As an introvert I get nervous about the crowds, the new faces, the small talk but this year I committed to leaning into the uncomfortable to see what the other side held. Here are my five top take aways from this year’s WLS event, not only do I enjoy relaying some great content I also appreciate looking back at this to maintain the forward momentum this event always promises.

1. “Every project has the inherent ability and capacity to be great and not be hindered by lack of money or lack of client vision.” Architect Julie Snow (one of my personal favorite designers!) shared this mantra as the one she used to lay the foundation to her iconic practice. Building on this, she reminded us that our role as architects are to pose interesting questions to our clients, to challenge them and offer a breadth of exploration from our experience. Architects create clarity and being able to be clear about a project’s intent with deep conviction is a learned skill that is honed through the mess of innovation.

2. Accept that there’s no playbook, Figure out the next thing…. not the final thing. Deliberate shifts or transformations are done by taking action. Trust that you are not lost and this is not a mistake.

3. Negotiation is important but pre-empt by making a 90 day plan and a target - show investment into the firm by taking on as much as you can - “do the job you have and the one you want.”

4. Effect change by placing these elements in motion:

   1. Be curious

   2. Celebrate creativity

   3. Chat, create conversation

   4. Coalition building & cooperation

   5. Convene people

   6. Keep your word, the choices you make are critical, be honest

   7. Use common sense

   8. Believe in chance, give it space

   9. Have courage

   10. Have a cause bigger than yourself

5. Reframe self promotion. We should broadcast the value and importance of design & the built environment on many different mediums and channels. Design has the power to change lives and help clients change their world - it is transformative. Our shared collective purpose is to shape our built environment for a better future.

The long-game

Why is it important to offer hands-on construction workshops or professional development classes to women in the profession of architecture? Why is having a safe place to experiment, problem solve and innovate matter?

Intuitively I know that these opportunities would be beneficial, and the response I’ve gotten from the design community defends this, but that’s not enough. Believing that these circumstances will promote equity, empower women and ultimately stem the attrition of talent caused by the “leaky pipeline” is a lofty goal. We are used to tackling messy design problems, creating solutions that inherently change the way people live and experience space, so this is no different. Our design education and professional experience has taught us processes and given us a language to better understand the problem, a design toolkit if you will. Providing opportunities to learn a new language, one describing construction and clarifying the components of materiality, imparts methods that can influence design and encourage innovation. A common construction language promotes empathy and connectivity, bridging industries and craft cultures.

What matters is opportunity, in whatever form it takes, and more opportunities for women to widen their process leads to empowered professionals. As I’ve said previously, the elements taught in a shop class translate into a variety of tangental wisdom. These teaching moments transcend the class and are useful in our every day profession. The necessary steps to introduce someone to a skill, the individual’s role in negotiating the tools, the collaborated efforts towards figuring out a roadblock or considering an innovative change. The route to success is knowing your strengths, by flexing these skill building muscles and leaning into the methods that led to a successful outcome, it allows you to call them up when you are challenged. So although the short-term goal of Designers Build_pdx may seem related to providing clarity around construction to women in the profession, it is only one step towards the larger goal of collectively shaping our built environment for a better future rooted in impact.

Photo courtesy of illustrator, Arnelle Woker